NEW YORK (AP) A New York City jury is hearing closing arguments over whether three men committed fraud by concealing cash payments they made to the families of top college basketball recruits.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Noah Solowiejczyk said at a federal trial on Wednesday that a former Adidas executive and two co-defendants engaged in a cover-up that tricked colleges into giving scholarships to players who should have been ineligible.

He says the recruiting scheme further harmed the schools by exposing them to possible NCAA sanctions.

Read More...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) Kentucky is once again the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference men's basketball title. The Wildcats were picked to win in a poll of SEC and national media members.

The same paned has named Tennessee forward Grant Williams as the SEC preseason player of the year. Williams was the SEC coaches' choice as player of the year last season.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) One star-studded freshman class has left Duke for the NBA. Another has come in right behind them.

A national title once again is a realistic goal for the latest crop of blue-chip Blue Devils who seem to fit into neatly defined roles.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Central Florida has been picked by coaches to win the American Athletic Conference, and Knights point guard B.J. Taylor has been named the conference's preseason player of the year.

UCF earned six of a possible 11 first-place votes and 114 points to edge Cincinnati for the No. 1 spot. Taylor was UCF's leading scorer last season, averaging 15.9 points over an injury-shortened 16 games.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas guard Andrew Jones has fractured a toe in practice, and the school says there is no timetable for his return.

Jones had rejoined the team following his diagnosis of leukemia, which occurred in January. He sat out most of last season while undergoing treatment.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) Purdue and men's basketball coach Matt Painter have agreed on a two-year contract extension through the 2023-24 season.

Athletic director Mike Bobinski said Friday that beginning July 2019, Painter's contract will convert to a rolling five-year term with automatic one-year extensions that could extend the agreement beyond 2023-24. The school said Painter also will receive increased compensation, but did not offer details.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) Illinois said Friday it has signed a two-year contract with Arizona for a men's basketball home-and-home series in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

The Illini play in Tucson on Nov. 10, 2019, and the Wildcats will visit Champaign on Dec. 12, 2020. It will be Illinois' first non-conference home-and-home series with a Power Five program since beating Vanderbilt in 2008-09.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota has signed athletic director Mark Coyle to a three-year extension.

Coyle took over as head of Gophers athletics in 2016. He's made a handful of critical hires since then, including football coach P.J. Fleck, women's basketball coach Lindsay Whalen and hockey coach Bob Motzko.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Kansas State coach Bruce Weber need only look at how difficult it was to build a schedule this season to know that his team, which returns all six guys who started every game on its Elite Eight run a year ago, is going to be a dangerous foe.

Weber wanted to challenge those guys, rather than give them an easy road like he might a team full of newcomers. So he reached out to dozens of Power Five coaches.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) New coach Dan Hurley introduced himself to UConn's fans on Friday as the Huskies unofficially opened their basketball season with the annual "First Night" celebration inside Gampel Pavilion.

UConn's version of "Midnight Madness" is now held at 7 p.m. and no longer marks the start of practice (for the men that started two weeks ago).